Heather Smith Thomas

Heather Smith Thomas ranches with her husband near Salmon, Idaho, raising cattle and a few horses. She has a B.A. in English and history from University of Puget Sound (1966). She has raised and trained horses for 50 years, and has been writing freelance articles and books nearly that long, publishing 20 books and more than 9,000 articles for horse and livestock publications. Some of her books include Understanding Equine Hoof Care, The Horse Conformation Handbook, Care and Management of Horses, Storey's Guide to Raising Horses and Storey's Guide to Training Horses. Besides having her own blog, www.heathersmiththomas.blogspot.com, she writes a biweekly blog at http://insidestorey.blogspot.com that comes out on Tuesdays.

Horse owners often worry about safety of their animals during hunting seasons, especially if the horse's color might be mistaken for a deer or other large game animal. Fortunately, there are some simple steps you can take to help distinguis Read More

Tissue-engineered products such as extracellular matrix (a graft material that can be implanted at the site of damaged tissue) are being used by a growing number of equine veterinarians to stimulate swifter and better healing for tendon and Read More

A feed supplement is anything fed to a horse in addition to a natural diet of forage. Technically grain is a supplement. But the term has come to mean any additional nutrients (such as certain vitamins and minerals, extra protein, energy, etc.) tha Read More

Young horses in training are vulnerable to a wide variety of problems--everything from respiratory disease to training injuries. These horses are often taken off the farm where they grew up, transported to training facilities where they Read More

Tapeworms are becoming more of an issue in horses as we learn more about how they affect horse health. Some regions of the country have a greater risk of equine tapeworm problems. In the upper Midwest (Wisconsin and Minnesota), for instance, studie Read More

When a horse founders and the damaged laminae that hold the coffin bone to the hoof wall release their grip, the coffin bone is no longer held in place. It rotates (tips down at the front) or slips downward in the hoof. The goal when shoeing these Read More

Shelly, crumbly feet can be a challenge for horses and their owners. The feet break down too readily if the horse is barefoot, and they are unable to hold nails if he's shod. In this article we'll look at several causes and potential treatments for Read More

"Moon blindness" is a chronic, painful eye disease, and it's the most common cause of blindness in horses. It was so named during the 1600s because people thought recurring attacks were related to phases of the moon. This eye disease might be one o Read More

The first days of a foal's life can be risky; there are a number of things that can go wrong. Some problems can be dealt with easily (such as constipation), while others are life-threatening (such as a ruptured bladder).

Embryo transfer (ET)--recovering the embryo from a bred donor mare for placement into a recipient mare that will carry and raise the foal--has become a useful reproductive tool for a growing number of breeders. Mares that are competing, or mares Read More

Pneumonia is, simply put, inflammation of the lungs. It can be mild or life-threatening (and quickly fatal) depending on its cause and the age of the foal. Pneumonia can be caused by viruses, bacteria, or fungi. Many foals are susceptible to Read More

Your new foal is struggling to his feet and instinctively wobbling toward mom. You watch in anxious interest as she licks and nudges to encourage him--while he noses at her front leg, her flank, her buttock, and finally, DINNER!

A horse's nutrient requirements increase with cold weather; he needs more calories to generate heat to keep warm. Mature horses in good condition usually don't need grain, however, if they have good winter pasture or grass hay. Read More

Sometimes it's challenging to keep weight on a horse. A hyperactive horse might burn off too many calories to stay in optimum body condition, while an old broodmare with digestive inefficiency can lose weight during the stress of lactation. We'll Read More